Paramedic from Texas plant blast arrested

(USA TODAY) -- Officials are mum on whether the arrest is linked to the explosion that killed 14 last month.

A paramedic who was one of the first on the scene of a massive explosion lat month at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, was arrested early Friday and charged with possession of a destructive device, The Dallas Morning News reported.

Officials have not said whether the arrest of Bruce Reed, 31, is related to the April 17 explosion at the West Fertilizer Co. that killed 14 people, injured around 200 and destroyed hundreds of homes in the vicinity, the newspaper said.

The arrest came as Texas law enforcement officials on Friday said they had launched a criminal investigation into the massive fertilizer plant explosion.

News 92 FM in Houston reported that Reed, who is with the West Emergency Medical Services, was one of the early first responders to the scene of the catastrophe and was assigned to be the incident commander at the scene. News 92 FM said authorities indicated that the explosive device was a pipe bomb.

U.S. Marshals arrested Reed around 2 a.m. and and booked him into McLennan County Jail in Waco, the News reported.

The newspaper said Reed had spoken to The Dallas Morning News and the Los Angeles Times in the immediate aftermath of the explosion about his experience.

In the interview with the Los Angeles Times on the day after the explosion, Reed said that his best friend, an emergency worker, had also responded to the fire that preceded the blast.

Bryce Reed said he was ordered to go just south of the fire to take over as incident commander while his friend stayed at the scene of the blaze and was there when the explosion occurred.

"He was my best friend. He got me help through the crisis in my life. He's my brother," Reed told the Times.

Although Reed did not identify his friend by name in the article, he was later identified as Cyrus Reed. A photo of the distraught paramedic attending a memorial service for the victims was widely circulated.

Until now, Investigators have largely treated the explosion as an industrial accident, but the Texas Department of Public Safety said in statement that the agency has now instructed the Texas Rangers and the McLennan County Sheriff's Department to conduct a criminal probe.

"This disaster has severely impacted the community of West, and we want to ensure that no stone goes unturned and that all the facts related to this incident are uncovered," DPS Director Steven McCraw said.

McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara said residents "must have confidence that this incident has been looked at from every angle and professionally handled - they deserve nothing less."